Merlin Entertainments is fielding interest from third parties and existing creditors eyeing a takeout of the £627m of unsecured debt maturing in November 2027, according to 9fin sources.
A number of investors have sent financing proposals to the theme park operator, sources noted, ranging from existing creditors to direct lenders pitching to refinance the company’s debt. The proposed financings vary in structure, the sources said, adding that the company has yet to respond to these offers.
Merlin has around £3.2bn of secured debt, comprised of bonds and loans. Funds holding the theme park operator’s secured debt have organized with Gibson Dunn but have yet to send a term sheet as a group, the sources said.
The company has also made some changes to governance at the operating level — Merlin’s CEO, Fiona Eastwood, resigned from her directorship of the group’s UK operating entity, Merlin Attractions Operations, on 13 August with Mike Vallis, an SVP in Merlin’s UK operation replacing her. Eastwood remains CEO of the Merlin group.
The Blackstone and KIRKBI-backed entertainment provider also executed an allotment of £2.2m of shares in another group entity, Motion Acquisition Limited, a holding company inside the company’s restricted group, on 11...
